You don’t always need a crisis to force your hand. One of the critical things a crisis does is it makes what previously looked risky no longer look so risky in the context.

Right now so much of what I’m hearing and reading espouses to unlock critical change and much needed innovation. Be that for society, for the environment, as a leader, for the business, or as a start up wanting to force a new paradigm.

There’s so much ‘good theory’. It’s everywhere and anywhere. Podcasts are the new black. Ted talks, and we all listen. Elbow to elbow in Zoom webinars brimming with theory, conjecture and postulation. It’s good stuff.

So you’d be forgiven for thinking wow we’re progressive, so much positive change is taking place all around us.

Is it? Really.

Everyone has an opinion but I’m not really hearing answers. Or at least I’m not hearing practical usable advice that lead to answers and action.

There are a lot of people inside lots of businesses wanting, needing, declaring they must make change. So it’s no great surprise there’s a bounty of theory and expertise washing around. That’s demand and supply.

But many of these are platitudes, perceived (but not actual) wisdom, band wagon chasing. ‘I say I want to change or support innovation honestly, but I’ve really got all my fingers crossed behind my back just in case anyone thinks I’m serious’.

The prevailing sentiment in business is conservatism. And in conservatism, by definition, little or nothing changes. The risk of change and innovation feels, and therefore is, far greater than the risk of maintaining a status quo.

If it’s not broken don’t fix. I wonder if that’s what went down at Woolworths, Blockbusters, Dixons, MFI, JJB Sports, Toys R Us, Borders, BHS, I could go on but you get the picture.

And before you say ‘ah ha yes but they’re all failed retail businesses who sadly fell victim to the troubled high street’ (like they were passengers in a car crash). Randomly, what about Thomas Cook, Bolton Wanderers, FlyB, Compac, General Motors, Kodak, Nokia, Yahoo, Blackberry Motion, Hitachi? Change and innovation could have taken place here but didn’t and they’re either worse off as a result or no longer here.

Let’s be really clear. CHANGE IS REALLY EASY. Innovation can take place.

But if you’re not serious about it you’ll be wasting a lot of time and resource.

Covid-19 has demonstrated that change and innovation can happen. Rapidly. Albeit under duress there are numerous examples of where businesses have not only survived but flourished because of their urgency and commitment to the cause.

But you don’t always need a crisis to force your hand. One of the critical things a crisis does is it makes what previously looked risky no longer look so risky in the context.

If you want it and are serious about it and you’re comfortable with a certain level of risk there is really nothing to stop you.

If you take a genuine appetite and desire for innovation and change as read then the 64 million dollar question becomes how?

Obviously a great deal rests on particular and individual circumstances. But a blend of the following do’s and don’t’s will help bring about change and innovation, IF, you’re deadly serious about it.

1.Don’t invest significant resource in identifying the route to change and then not bother with proper investment for implementation. Invest at least as much resource and effort in implementation.

2.Do not conflate the process of implementation with the strategy. See them as two distinct but mutually valuable and important components. Like Laurel and Hardy if you will.

William Maughan

email: william@industrialclairvoyants.com
website: www.industrialclairvoyants.com